A/N: Hello! First, I would like to thank you for checking out my story, means a lot to me. Now, this is my version of OUATs Ariel. I originally began this after the first season ended, so everything up to there cannon, but after that it may change a bit. I will try to stay close to the plot of season two, and it won't really effect much. Rating may T for some minor language and themes which may come in story will revolve around Ariel, her sisters, Eric, Ruby as well as a few other OCs and Snow and the others sometimes. Thank you all for checking this out, and thanks even more if you read this whole an, I hope you'll stick with me. Tell what you think, and PM me if you have any questions. Please read and review.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my Ariel, Marina, and the story that surrounds her, all settings and other recognizable characters are not mine, and there is not copyright infringement intended.
Enjoy :)
Full Summary: Marina Blue, or Ariel now in curse-less Storybrooke, doesn't have it as easy as it seems. Between avoiding certain people and looking for others, she realizes that though one curse has been broken, she still has many of her own to deal with. All magic comes with a price, and she is about to learn how high the cost might be, and how being part of two worlds, is harder then it looks. But this mermaid is a fighter, and she won't soon give up. As she searches for a loophole, the mermaid will have to choose between happiness and family, between love and life, and most importantly, between worlds.
Fairytale Land: Past
Ariel blinked. Once, then again a second time, and then finally she opened her eyes fully, sitting up from where she had laid unconscious on the wet sand. She shook the dirt and water out of her bright red hair, mind racing, heart still beating quickly. She glanced downwards, mouth opening slightly in happy surprise at what she saw. Legs. She had legs again. she turned her head upwards. The sky was a dull blue, not a dark grey as it had been but the colour of a storm passing. Looking around she sighed with what was a mix of relief and amazement. She had done it.
Her attention then turned to Eric, who was currently stirring beside her. He sat up with a groan, and glanced around groggily. "What happened?" he asked hoarsely.
She laughed at that. A pure, true laugh because he was safe and she was safe and right now that was all that mattered. With another joyful laugh she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "We did it," she whispered happily.
"We did it," he repeated, louder then she had, his arms going around her. "You are one tough little mermaid."
She pulled back slightly, holding him at arms length so she could scowl playfully at him. "You know I hate that."
He grinned at her. "But your my little mermaid," he decided firmly, standing up. "So, everything is back to normal then, correct?" he asked.
Ariel pushed herself up, standing as well. "Not normal," she said. "But okay, I suppose. We're home. We're together. That's what matters."
Eric nodded, smiling, then pulled her back to him, pressing his chest against hers. "You did it Ariel, we're safe now. It's all going to be alright."
"Yes," Ariel whispered halfheartedly, chin resting on his shoulder she tried to keep her eyes from going to the newly acquired bracelet on her wrist, it did anyways, and she fought the urge to burst out into tears. "Yes it is."
Storybrooke: Present Day
Marina Blue walked quickly down the streets of Storybrooke, hands in the pockets of her trendy black leather jacket as she tried to retain some of the heat that the cold wind was blowing out of her.
Her bright red hair flew back in the strong breeze, looking like flames in the wind that licked up the sides of her face and neck, tangling around the large green eyes that should have been blue. Curling her toes inside her old puma running shoes, Marina quickened her pace, weaving around slow moving towns folk, desperate to get out of the chilling wind and to the comfort of Granny's warm diner, where she was meeting Ruby in 5 minutes time.
Smiling at the thought of seeing her friend, the redhead's mind wandered. Getting a flash of something, a memory or a fantasy, she didn't know, the girl paused. What's happening? Gosh, again?
There was Ruby. Different. And her too, different. But both still the same.
She was running, from something, stumbling on unsteady -unsteady, why unsteady- legs. A wolf was behind her, eyes golden and teeth bared. Red, her mind supplied, but she had no connection to the name, no, the colour what so ever, despite it being almost the shade of her hair.
You're going crazy, she thought to herself, walking again, then a second voice, same to the first but still different, popped up, You aren't insane, its true. The girl sighed, shaking her head as if it would keep the voices out, this had been happening for weeks on end, and other then the strange visions and weird voices, everything was utterly...normal. There were other visions -that what she had decided to call them- too. Such as her and a girl that was not quite Ruby laughing in dresses that were far from modern. There was a man, a young man her age, with dark hair and bright eyes, smiling at her. The sound of ocean waves crashing, mixed with the strong smell of salt water. And strangest of all, was her. Her but brighter, glowing, and with blues eyes, in a wedding dress.
But, she had never been married, of course, she was only sixteen, that was crazy. Not crazy, the voice that sounded scarily like her - not that all the voices in her head didn't sound somewhat like her - but yet still different, spoke again, True. Real.
She looked back to her path just in time to knock into an old lady, whose bags flew from her arms and onto the ground with a flop.
"Gosh, s-sorry," Marina said in a clear, but slightly shaky voice, swiftly bending down to retrieve the bags and straighten up, handing then back to the lady.
Before she could place the bags back in the elder woman's waiting arms, a warm gust of blew through the town, causing strands of her hair to whip up into flames once more, before settling again.
Marina inhaled sharply, almost recoiling back as the memories surged through her, hitting her in the stomach like a brick. Her name was Ariel. She was a mermaid, a princess, a sister. He best friend was Red Riding Hood. Her husband was prince Eric. Her name wasn't Marina, it was Ariel. Ariel, Ariel, Ariel. "The Little Mermaid," she breathed, resisting a scowl, "Oh my."
Swiftly, she shoved the bags back into the woman's awaiting arms before taking off down the street, sprinting in the direction of Granny's diner.
Her wrongly green eyes wide as she ran.
"Red!" she shrieked, launching herself into the wait arms of her friend standing outside the diner.
"Ariel!" exclaimed the brunette, stumbling back slightly at the force of the embrace, but quickly recovering and returning the hug with just as much force.
Marina wanted to laugh, or cry, or a mixture of both. She didn't know what to feel at the moment, wasn't sure what she should feel, or even what she wanted to feel. But in this moment she let herself be happily reunited with her friend.
Marina pulled away to hold the other girl at arms length. "You remember?" she asked. Ruby nodded. "Everything?" She nodded again. Marina let out laugh, high and melodic like the ringing of wind chimes. "This is marvelous."
Ruby ran her hands up Marina's arms, feeling lightly, but with a firm hand. "Are you alright?" she wondered. "Everything's okay?"
Marina almost laughed, the other girl had always been very protective. "I'm fine," she assured.
Ruby nodded, pulled Marina back into a tight hug before quickly releasing her, "Oh, Ariel I missed you so," she said with a grin.
"I've missed you too," Marina grinned, her voice delightfully strong. "It feels like it has been forever, when in reality I saw you only yesterday."
"You saw Ruby," the brunette corrected. "Not Red. Not me, awake and alive again."
"This is wonderful," said Marina happily, then something dawned on her, smile fading slightly. "But what has happened? It was surely the Regina. Casting that curse that she threatened Snow with, right?"
"Yes," Ruby nodded. "It must be."
"But how come it has broken? Why do we remember? Why now?"
Ruby furrowed her brows, thinking, then her eyes widened suddenly. "Emma," she said. "It must've been Emma."
Marina tilted her head to the side. "Emma?" she questioned.
"Yes," Ruby nodded vigorously. "James and Snow's daughter."
"What about her?"
"It must of been her who broke the curse just now," explained the older girl, hands waving around as she spoke. "It was prophesied, by Rumplestiltskin. Snow and James sent Emma to this world through a enchanted wardrobe, so in 28 years she could come and break the curse."
Marina's eyebrows shot up. "28 years?" she asked. "But, if it's been 28 years, why has nothing changed?"
Ruby shrugged. "The curse must have frozen us all in time. Stuck here, until Emma came."
Marina gasped. "Oh my gosh, I'm still seventeen," she said, looking in Ruby with wide eyes she groaned, "I'm still a child in this world."
"It's not that bad," Ruby reasoned.
The redhead gave her friend a raised brow look. "Really? Because at home I am a married princess, here I'm only a hormonal teenager. At least your considered an adult."
"Trust me, it's not all that great," Ruby countered. "Except I can buy a drink."
Marina shook her head fondly, stepping back and resuming seriousness. "We have to find everybody. Make sure they're okay. Figure out what to do next," she said firmly. "I wonder where our lovely Evil Queen is at," she spoke sarcastically. "Someone will surely want her head for what she's done."
"And what about you?" Ruby asked with a raised brow, and behind all that was purely Red, Marina could still see that of her friend's cursed self bleeding through. "Do you not want her head?"
Marina grinned, and spoke somewhat micheviously. "Maybe a little."
"I bet everybody does," Ruby said. "I can't say that I'm not one of those people."
"Though I don't think it's in our best interests to kill her. At least not yet," Marina pointed out.
Ruby furrowed her brows. "And why not?"
"Come on Rubes, think," she teased, using the nickname her Storybrooke self had given to Red's. "The curse is broken, and yet why haven't we returned home? There must be a reason."
Ruby smiled. "You always were one awfully smart little mermaid."
Marina scowled, but it was laced with playfulness. "You know I hate that, Little Red."
"Yes, but now we're even."
"I suppose so."
Both the girls laughed, and Marina relished in the happiness of the moment. It was nice for them to be like this, talking like old friends -as the were- even in the wake of such a revelation. Yes, maybe things were okay right now, good even, seeing as they all had there memories back. She took a moment to glance around the diner for the first time since she arrived. Everyone seemed to have huge smiles one their faces. People were hugging, and crying, and laughing. There was even a couple sharing a kiss in the corner. Every so often, someone would burst in the door, or another would run out. Panic, maybe, but happiness, definitely.
It wasn't going to last though. As Ruby had said, she was clever, and she knew that once the happiness and excitement of new-found memories died down, the panic would fully set it. And the sadness. And confusion. And especially the anger. She had to do something before that happened.
"Come along," she said, movingly slowly towards the door. "Let's go."
"Where are we going?" wondered Ruby.
"We're going to find Snow. It's time to get some answers."
